Hey, ”X-Files” fans, break out the brewskies and polish up the Pinto. Chris Carter & Co. are working on a special episode that mimics the style of Fox’s shaky-cam reality show, ”COPS.” The brainchild of ”X-Files” coexec producer Vince Gilligan, the episode will follow a rookie cop on the streets of Los Angeles, where he bumps into Mulder and Scully. ”’X-Files,’ in my mind, is sort of a cool and different ‘COPS,”’ says Gilligan.

Still under consideration is whether the Feb. 20 show will open with the familiar ”COPS” logo. ”We don’t want people tuning in, seeing ‘COPS,’ and saying, ‘What the heck? Our show was preempted this week.’ We need to try to make clear that it’s indeed an episode of ‘The X-Files.”’ Okay, but can we at least get to see Mulder in a grimy tank top?” (Additional reporting by Dan Snierson)